The invention is in the field of optics, education and simulation and more narrowly in the field of projectors and image displays.
In the field of education, the use of simulation, using projectors, displays and other devices, is of ever increasing importance for reasons of time, economy and effectiveness. Display screens are of particular importance for the display of realistic environment and operational conditions. However, there are several areas in which image display and transfer and display means would benefit by improved techniques, if available. One example is in multi-color television displays.
Conventional multicolor televisions are accomplished by scanning electron beams across the screen, which is coated with various phosphors that emit the desired colors. The light emitted from the screen is not spectrally pure because the light produced by the phosphors has a very wide bandwidth. The light emitted by the screen is not coherent, and therefore cannot be used to carry other information besides intensity. The vertical resolution of the screen is commonly limited to about 0.01 inch because of the horizontal scan technique, and the order in which data points can be scanned is usually fixed because of the horizontal scan techniques.
State-of-the-art laser televisions are commonly implemented by scanning a modulated laser beam across a diffuse screen by means of acousto-optic deflectors, electro-optic deflectors, rotating mirror scanners, or piezoelectric scanners. These devices do provide spectrally pure colors and coherent output light. These devices do not increase the vertical resolution nor do they provide a random data point readout.
The subject invention provides an improved display, eliminating the disadvantages noted above while providing a simple, reliable, effective system of improved resolution, readability and brightness, the system being applicable not only to television displays but also to displays of images in the infrared and micro ranges of wavelength.